ASR Round Table Rules and Procedures

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• ASR Player's Manual Appendix T: ASR Round Table Description

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Version 1.4

(Last updated SD 190501)
========================


VERSION HISTORY:
----------------
1.4- changed wording regarding RT Secretary's eligibility to reflect 
        the passed motion of April 2007 RT (SD 190501)
1.3- changed wording of several sections to reflect passed motions of
	April 2005 RT (SD 170501)
1.2- moved officer reports before elections by Chris Mayberry (SD 131001)
1.1- changed wording of rules to clarify succession to the chair 
	by Andrea Schalk(SD 091001)
1.0- Creation and distribution of document by D'Maris Coffman (SD 081001)



1. Name, Nature and Purpose

  A. Name

  This body shall be called, "The alt.starfleet.rpg Round Table", or, 
  "The ASR Round Table", or "RT".


  B. Nature

  The ASR Round Table shall be a deliberative body, governed by standard 
  parliamentary practices, as specified in this document and adapted 
  from Robert's Rules of Order. It is an autonomous group of people 
  meeting to determine, in full and free discussion, courses of action 
  to be taken in the name of the entire group.


  C. Purpose

  The business and powers of the ASR Round Table shall consist of: 
  selecting or removing the chief officer of ASR (i.e., the player of 
  the Commander-in-Chief, Starfleet); of ratifying the appointment of 
  the player of the Chief of Starfleet Operations, and of its own 
  Secretary; of debating and voting on proposals for changes in the 
  rules and policies of ASR; and of expressing the sentiments of ASR as 
  a group.



2. Membership

  A. Status

    1. ASR RP Unit COs

    Every Commanding Officer of a Role Playing Unit in ASR shall be 
    eligible to sit as a member of the ASR Round Table. A Role Playing 
    Unit shall be defined, for the purposes of the Round Table, as a 
    group of players, accountable by and to a Commanding Officer and an 
    Executive Officer, and accepted as a constituent Unit in one of the 
    ASR Fleets, or as an irregular Unit at the discretion of the Flag 
    Council. A Unit must have enjoyed such status for at least one 
    month before the start of a Round Table session in order for its 
    representative to sit as a member in that session.


    2. Flag Officers

    The players of all the administrative characters of the Flag Council 
    shall sit as members of the ASR Round Table on that basis, 
    regardless of whether they also serve as Commanding Officers of RP 
    Units.


  B. Absence and Substitution

    1. Absence

    Eligible members of the Round Table are expected to answer the Roll 
    Call by informing the Secretary either of their intent to attend, or 
    of their absence. Members who find they will no longer be able to 
    participate at some time after the session begins are requested to 
    so inform the Secretary at their earliest convenience. This is a 
    courtesy to the Secretary and to the Round Table.


    2. Substitution

    Should the Commanding Officer of an RP Unit be seated in the 
    capacity of a Flag officer, or decline to be seated, the duty of 
    representing the Unit will fall in turn to the Executive Officer, 
    and then to the Unit's members (including the Game Master, if 
    present) in order of seniority (determined by their time as members 
    of ASR). If no member of a Unit is eligible or willing to represent 
    the Unit at the ASR Round Table, the Chair has the right to assign a 
    representative to the Unit, or to leave that seat vacant, for the 
    duration of the current session. If absence occurs after the 
    opening of a session, no substitution takes place.



3. Officers of the Round Table and elected officers of ASR

  A. Roles and duties

    1. Chair

    The Chair of the ASR Round Table shall be held by the chief officer 
    of ASR, the player of the Commander-In-Chief, Star Fleet, or the 
    person acting in that capacity. The duties of the Chair as such 
    shall consist of presiding over the ASR Round Table while in session
    and shall not transfer to a newly elected Commander-In-Chief, Star 
    Fleet until adjournment of the ASR Round Table session.

    For issues the Chair cannot preside over him- or herself, the office
    can be passed on. In that case, it should be taken on by the 
    (Acting) CSFO, or, if that player is not available, by a member of 
    the Flag Council of the Chair's choosing. Once the issue has been 
    resolved, the Chair goes back to the CINCSF.

    2. Secretary

    The calling and tallying of the Roll, the presentation of the
    Agenda, the tabulation of votes on the items of the Agenda, and the
    reporting of the conduct of the Flag Council and the proceedings of
    the Round Table shall be the duties of a Secretary of the ASR Round
    Table, chosen as such from among general club members who are not
    seated at the RT as Flag officers.


  B. Limitations

    1. Chair

    The Chair shall not participate in discussion of Proposals. Neither
    shall the Chair vote on motions or on Proposals, except to break
    ties, in which case the Chair must do so.

    2. Secretary

    The fact of being Round Table Secretary does not affect in any way
    that player's original status as the representative of a Role
    Playing Unit or as an observer. A RT member who is Secretary may
    discuss and vote on Proposals and Motions without prejudice. An RT
    observer who is Secretary may not discuss or vote on Proposals and
    Motions.


  C. Selection

    1. CINCSF

    The player of CINCSF, and thus the Chair of RT, is chosen, by 
    election, by the ASR Round Table. If a vacancy occurs, the CSFO 
    will hold the position in an acting capacity until such an 
    election can take place. If the CSFO is not available for this, 
    the Flag Council will determine an Acting CINCSF until the issue 
    can be thus resolved.

    The election shall consist of motions to nominate candidates, 
    which must be seconded, followed by a period of discussion, 
    followed by a vote. If no candidate receives at least one half of 
    the votes cast, plus one, not counting abstentions, in the first 
    round of voting, further rounds shall be held until such majority 
    is achieved.



    2. CSFO

    When a vacancy exists in the office of CSFO, CINCSF shall nominate 
    a candidate for that office on an acting basis, and the next 
    regular session of the Round Table shall vote to ratify said 
    candidate. If the candidate fails to receive a number of votes 
    equal to at least one half of the total cast, plus one, not 
    counting abstentions, the CINCSF must nominate a new candidate at 
    once and repeat the procedure until a candidate is ratified.

    Upon the election of a new person to the office of CINCSF, the term 
    of the sitting CSFO shall end.


    3. Secretary

    The procedure for selecting a Secretary for the RT is the same as   
    for the CSFO (see 3.C.2., above).


  D. Removal

    1. CINCSF

    If a motion of No Confidence is made and seconded, the office of 
    the Chair is handed on as per 3.A.1 above, and the new Chair 
    shall preside until such motion is defeated or fails, or a new 
    CINCSF is elected. If such a motion receives a number of votes 
    equal to at least half of the members seated in the present 
    session, plus one, the CINCSF is removed, and an election for a 
    successor held immediately, as per 3.A., above.


    2. CSFO

    The CSFO may be removed by a vote of No Confidence from the Round
    Table, as per the rules for removal of the Chair (see 3.D.1,        
    above).


    3. Secretary

    The Round Table Secretary may be removed only by a vote of No
    Confidence in the Round Table, as per the rules for removal of the
    Chair (see 3.D.1., above).



4. Sessions, Regular and Special

  A. Regular Sessions

    1. Procedure for Convening

    A Regular Session of the ASR Round Table shall be convened when the 
    Secretary so informs all those eligible to participate. The 
    Secretary is required, no later than two weeks before the first day 
    of any session, to Call the Roll, that is, to inform all eligible 
    members that they are requested to take part, and to receive their 
    affirmations of intent or inability to participate in the upcoming 
    session. So long as at least one half, plus one, of the eligible 
    members reply, affirming their intention to participate, a quorum is 
    reached, and the session is held. If no quorum is reached, the 
    session is cancelled.


    2. Frequency and Length

    A Regular Session shall be convened on the first day of April and of 
    October of every year. It shall be adjourned no later than the end 
    of the last day of the month in which it was convened, unless a 
    motion for extension has been made and passed.


  B. Special Sessions

    1. Means of Convening

    A Special Session shall be convened when the Secretary receives 
    statements so demanding from a number of eligible members equal to 
    at least one half of the total, plus one; this shall stand in place 
    of the Roll Call affirmations of those members. The Secretary then 
    conducts a normal Roll Call and determination of quorum as in the 
    case of Regular Sessions (see 4.A.1., above)


    2. Frequency and Length

    Any number of Special Sessions may be convened in a year, so long as 
    at least one month has passed between the adjournment of the last 
    session and the proposed convening of a new Special Session. No 
    Special Session may continue past the last day of the month in which 
    it was convened.



5. Rules of Order

  A. Order of Business

    1. Roll Call and Determination of Quorum

    2. Presentation of Agenda

    3. Reports of Officers

    4. Selection or Removal of Officers

    5. Old Business

    6. New Business

    7. Adjournment


  B. Motions

    1. Proposals (Main Motions)

    Proposals are items on the Agenda that have been submitted to the
    Secretary for consideration as business of the Round Table. They are
    presented to the Round Table by the Secretary in the order they were
    received, and treated as Old or New Business, as appropriate.

    A proposal is numbered in the format PYY.SS.NNV. The elements of 
    this number scheme are defined as: P stands for proposal, YY is the 
    last two digits of the year in which the RT occurs, SS is the 
    session number in sequential order for the RT sessions that year 
    beginning with 01, NN is the proposal number (01, 02, etc.), and V, 
    as applicable, is a letter beginning at A for an amended version of 
    a proposal. There is no version letter on a first draft of a 
    proposal.

    So, the third procedure considered at the first RT of 2005 would be
    numbered P05.01.03. Were this procedure to be amended during the RT,
    the first amendment to the procedure would be P05.01.03A


    2. Procedural Motions

      a) Point of Order

      Any member may at any time draw the attention of the Chair to a 
      perceived violation of the Rules of the Round Table. The format 
      for Point of Order is
     
        Subj: Point of Order

        Text: I draw the attention of the Chair to the following 
        statement of (title of delegate): (quote of material) *and/or* 
        the following point of the Rules: (quote of rule, followed by 
        question), and request a ruling.
     
     
      b) Point of Information
     
      Any member may at any time ask a question regarding the rules and 
      their interpretation, and other matters connected to the subject 
      at hand. The format for Point of Information is as follows:
        
        Subj: Point of Information

        Text: I draw the attention of the Chair to the following point 
        (quote) and would like to ask the following question: 
        (question).
          

      c) Motions to Alter Time Limits for Discussion and for Voting

      The initial time limits for discussion of and voting on Proposals 
      are 48 hours each. These limits may be extended, or, in the case 
      of discussion, abbreviated, by a motion, followed by a second, so 
      requesting, at the discretion of the Chair, if no objection is 
      made within twenty-four hours of the second. The format for such 
      motions is as follows:

        Subj: Motion to Alter Time Limit for Discussion *or* Voting

        Text: I move *or* second the current period be extended by 
        48 hours *or* closed immediately.


      d) Motions to Postpone Consideration or to Send to Committee

      Discussion of a Proposal is usually followed by a vote. If, 
      however, a motion to postpone consideration or to send to 
      committee is made and seconded, and no objection is presented 
      within twenty-four hours, the Chair may delete the Proposal from 
      the agenda of the current session, and place it on the agenda of 
      the next session as Old Business, provided a Proposal to do so is 
      submitted to the Secretary before the start of said session.


      e) Motion to Adjourn

      When all items of business on the Agenda of the Round Table have 
      been disposed of, any member may make a motion to Adjourn; if 
      seconded, and if there are no objections presented within 
      twenty-four hours, the Chair must declare the session to be 
      adjourned. The Chair must also declare the session to be 
      adjourned by the last day of the month in which it was opened, 
      unless a motion for extension has been passed (see 4.B.2.f), or 
      when any such period of extension is over.


      f) Motion to Extend the Session

      If there is business left on the Agenda of the Round Table which 
      cannot be concluded within a regular session, any member may make 
      a motion to Extend the Session. If seconded, the Round Table 
      votes on the issue, and if the motion passes, the session is 
      extended accordingly. There must not be more than one extension, 
      and an extension must not last longer than 14 days.


  C. Rules of Discussion

  Discussion shall be limited to debate of the merits of a Proposal, and 
  shall not be allowed to digress into irrelevant or tangential issues. 
  The officers of the Round Table shall be addressed and referred to by 
  the names of their offices, Flag officers by their Flag titles, 
  members of the Round Table by their RP Unit, and candidates for office 
  by their full (given and sur)names.

  Violation of these rules can be raised as a Point of Order or of 
  Information, and, as with all such Points, is ruled upon at the sole 
  discretion of the Chair, including sanctions ranging from reprimand, 
  to censure, and expulsion from the current session of the Round Table.


  D. Rules of Voting

    1. Format of Ballots

    Members shall vote on Proposals and Motions in the ASR Round Table 
    by sending copies of an e-mail message to all members of the Round 
    Table. If a member will be temporarily absent during the voting 
    period, such member may submit one or more votes to the Secretary 
    before the beginning of the voting period; such votes will be 
    reported as per 5.D.3., below. All voting messages must strictly 
    observe the following format, or be considered Null and Void at the 
    discretion of the Secretary:

        Subj: RT Vote / Item(s) of business: Proposal(s) or Motion

        Text. Yea (or Yes)
          *or* Nay (or No)
          *or* Abstain
          [for each item as designated by the Secretary if more than one]


    2. Voting Majorities

    A Proposal shall pass when it receives a number of Yea votes greater 
    than the number of Nay votes cast against it.


    3. Report of Voting by the Secretary

    The Secretary, whenever the votes received are sufficient to decide 
    an outcome, or when the time period for voting has passed, shall 
    tabulate and present a list of the votes cast.


    4. Announcement of Result by the Chair

    Upon receipt of the Secretary's report as per 5.D.3., above, the 
    Chair announces the passage, defeat, or failure of the Proposal or 
    Motion.